Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel, 1912)

Banerjee, Dhriti, Singh, Siddharth & Chowdhury, Mousumi, 2022, First Record of Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel, 1912) (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Hedychium coronarium (family Zingiberaceae) from India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 122 (2), pp. 207-211 : 208-210

Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel, 1912)

1912. Dacus (Bactrocera) dorsalis Hendel, Supplta. Ent. 1:

18.

Type locality: Koshun , Taiwan .

Materials examined: 2♀, 22°36′26″ N, 88°24′38″ E, 9 m, Host plant - Hedychium coronarium (J. Koenig, 1783) , Bangur Avenue, Kolkata , West Bengal, 21.ix.2021, collected by P. Parui [ NZSI] .

Diagnosis: Figure 2 exhibits the habitus of Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel, 1912) . The species Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis could easily be separated from others by the costal band not extending below the second longitudinal vein (R2+3) except at the apex of the wing.

Face with a black spot in the antennal furrow. Mesonotum with two postsutural yellow vittae, scutellum yellow with a narrow black band at base, upper portion of stereopleuron bears a yellow mark. Third abdominal segment with a black band and a longitudinal extending up to fourth terga.

Costal band of wing narrow and enlarged at apex like Cucurbitae Coquellett.

Legs reddish, fore tibiae with brown tinge on posterior margin, mid with brown tinge at base and hind tibia wholly brown tinge. The ovipositor sharply pointed at apex.

Distribution: In different states within India: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.

Elsewhere: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (southern), Japan, Hawaiian Islands, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Marianas, Micronesia, Moluccas, Myanmar, Nepal, North Australia, Ogasawara Islands, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan, Tahiti, Thailand.

Remarks: This fly is a flower visitor and pollen eater of the plant H. coronarium , besides its common role as one of the most severe pests of fruits and vegetables.

Foraging Behaviour and Ecology

The species B. dorsalis has been observed due to feed on the pollen of the flower of the plant Hedychium coronarium (Butterfly lily) of the family Zingiberaceae , commonly called Butterfly lily. Like “early birds” Platycheirus and Melanostoma ( Ssymank, 2001) , this Bactrocera species starts feeding on pollen early in the morning even when the pollen remains wet and eating for a pretty long time. But they become agile when sunlight touches the flowers. Traits are less common in the early morning (Inouye, et al., 2015). This tephritid species was also observed feeding on a single flower for a long time and experimented that they do not feel much disturbed even when the flower is moved with hand. As the hovering mode of flying is more expensive than all flying modes (Kevan and Baker,

Figures

Figure 2. Habitus ofBactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis (Hendel, 1912).